Environment or Energy-Related Photochemistry and Photocatalysis—A Theme Issue in Honor of Professor Pierre Pichat
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Photochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 209
Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Molecules is pleased to host a Special Issue honoring the contributions of Professor Pierre Pichat to the title domain. As a student, he was admitted via a national competitive examination to ESCIL (Ecole Supérieure de Chimie Industrielle de Lyon), from which he graduated first among 72 students. From there, he qualified for the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) as a trainee at the IRC (Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse), founded by Prof. M. Prettre within the CNRS. He obtained his Ph.D. in the use of infrared spectroscopy in catalysis. This was a novel topic at the time, and his thesis results were selected for a presentation at the "Ponificiae Academiae". He was confirmed as a CNRS full researcher. With a focus on zeolites, he advanced his studies in the same field. His results led to his promotion to Research Director at the CNRS. During this period, he took advantage of two one-year leaves to extend his knowledge of mass spectrometry at CEN in Grenoble, France, and optical spectroscopy at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.
Subsequently, he became interested in an area introduced in Lyon by Prof. S. Teichner: heterogeneous photocatalysis. His further studies have been centered around it for the last two thirds of his career, first at IRC, then at ECL (Ecole Centrale de Lyon, a type of high-level university in the French system) where he moved with his team and founded a CNRS/ECL Research Unit named «Photocatalysis and Environment». The quality of his Research Unit was recognized by the CNRS, insofar that he was promoted to the first class of Research Director and his team’s younger colleagues also received promotions.
In his studies on photocatalysis, Prof. Pichat primarily investigated the extremely complex mechanisms occurring at the surface of the photo-excited catalysts. Diverse approaches, often original, were developed. For example: the use of organic molecules whose initial products of photocatalytic degradation provide information on the active species involved; the use of isomers or isotopically labeled molecules, particularly O2; the use of enzymes to remove specific active species; the use of compounds poisoning certain surface sites; comparisons of photocatalysis to photochemistry and oxidizing processes producing known active species; the effects of dopants or co-catalysts on the efficacy of photocatalysts, etc. Within two international cooperations, other fundamental investigations relied on time-resolved microwave conductivity or photoacoustic spectroscopy.
On the other hand, to properly evaluate the potential applications of photocatalysis for water or indoor air purification and self-cleaning materials, Prof. Pichat and his coworkers conceived special reactors to be used in the laboratory or on-site. The aim was to create conditions as close as possible to reality.
Prof. Pichat has published many research papers on photocatalytic reactions and materials, and has been invited to write reviews on the domain in books and journals. He has been a frequent invited lecturer at conferences, a member of the Scientific Committees of most of the International Conferences on photocatalysis, as well as editor of books. He has received an International Appreciation Award acknowledging his pioneering contributions to photocatalysis; only three scientists have received this award.
Over the years, Prof. Pichat has served on CNRS-related Committees on diverse aspects of chemistry, such as catalysis, photochemistry, solar chemistry and environmental chemistry. He has been the coordinator or advisor for European Community projects on photocatalysis. Institutions in various countries have requested him to evaluate projects on environmental chemistry.
Prof. Dr. Matthew A. Tarr
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- photocatalysis: mechanisms, materials, reactors
- photoelectrochemistry
- environmental photocatalysis and photochemistry
- photon-involving, energy-related chemical reactions
- photochemistry of nanomaterials
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